The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-03-19
A WILD NIGHT.
49,, The NEWS OF LEES SUR
~ GENDER WAS RECEIVED.

ne S'''
NV Of the Cumberland-The Boys
,onr the Mountains of East Ten
nessee'
=. ros near the middle OF April. Darkness
oo,,lcd down over tho great bivouac.
% ,nclcs had sounded the tattoo The
- veterans who had been squatting
go the camp fires, talking over tho
$50 80 ~ the past, and wondering when the
would he OVERHEAD knocked tho ashes
We, their pipes and crawled within their
- 4nup" tents, or their shelters made Of
~bs All was still save the measured
49, d, the sentinelS as they passed 10 and
y. mon their beats around the sleeping
snuy. -..,,. -. .,.o
-. night air a sound that aroused every
..,s,.r in an instant. We had often heard 1t
90. and 1t always meant business 1t was
-, long roll at division headquarters. And
~ long roll as it wasl The drummer
,..uod his sticks as if he was pounding for
by life. When a soldier hears the long
rs n, never waits for orders. 1t is an alarm
~ has but one meaning. His duty is to get
- on and take his place in line, and 10
,-~sry lively about it, too The drums at
s.beadouarters Of each brigade took up the
md and the piercing blasts of buges joined
Tho chorus. Startled from their sleep, the
.t3;ers kicked off their blankets, and 1t
-.s,'t n minute until the companies were
,.-r,ed every man with his accouterments
A,.tled on and his musket at shoulder in
-,.,.,rse TO the Fall inn OF the orderly ser
rasnts Again drums and bugles sounded,
- companies marched TO the color line and
,be regiments were ready for action. 1t was
.rooonleSs night, and the darkness of the oak
goods was but feebly dispelled here and there
nv the pickering light of the smoldering fires.
MOMENTS OF ANXIOUS SUSPENSE.
Every ear was strained TO catch the rattle
\ shots on the picket line. No sound was
heard save the hustle Of the assembling troops
and the voices of the officers as they gave the
rac.SSary commands. Ii was one OF those
moments Of anxious suspense that test the
,ourage Of the bravest veteran.
An orderly from brigade headquarters
dashed up and handed paper to the colonel
u o,,r regiment. A bit Of candle was found,
and by its suffering light the colonel glanced
AZ the message. Jumping about four feet
INTO the air he gave one wild, piercing yell
that an Apache chief might strive in vain to
rival We all thought for the moment that
no had gone crazy. When ne came down
he handed the paper to the adJutant
letting off another yell, and told him
~ read il 10 the regiment. 1t was copy
If telegram from Secretary Stanton
announcing the surrender of Lees army. The
scene that followed no words can adequately
describe The colonel and adjutant swung
their hats and danced around and fairly
bowled Every officer and soldier i'll the regi-
rnent. and in every other regiment, did the
came thing We had heard shouting and
yelling before, and had done our full share of
II on occasion, but never anything like that
which greeted the reading of this dispatch.
From one end Of the camp 10 the other the
confusion and uproar were prOdigious. Men
laughed and danced and Rugged one another,
and rent the air with every kind OF noise pos
gble 10 the human voice pitched IN It's highest
kew. 1t was as if the inmates Of a score of
lunatic asylums had been turned loose in those
Tennessee woods.
When the yelling had in some degree sub
sided. from sheer vocal exhaustion, the sol
diers began 70 cast about for other means TO
make noise. II didn't matter what it was
the more discordant the better, only so that
it helped 10 swell the awful din. Meanwhile
all the brass bands were playing, though
nobody could tell what the tunes We're; the
shrek OF flies and rattle Of drums were heard
on every hand, and the bugerS strained 10
make themselves heard until it seemed as If
they would blow their heads off. Then the
artillery opened Gun after gun joined in
the might chorus until every battery III the
corps was sending forth its thunders to echo
among the mountains Regiment after regi-
ment began 20 fire their muskets. The men
took their cartridges from their boxes, poured
in the powder, rammed down the paper for
waddnc. and blazed away. The balls they
threw upon the ground. there was no further
use for them
A LITERAL PANDEMONIUM
Perhaps you can imagine the din but it's
more likely You can't When the soldiers
had shot away their cartridges they hunted
mp an thc camp kettles and Tin pans, and beat
them furously with sticks and stones, still
yelling and Shouting as fast as they could
gather breath enough to do so. The camp
was a literal pandemonium. Heaped with
wood the fires blazed high, and the forest was
ag.ow with light
Men did all sorts Of grotesque and ridicu-
lous things They climbed trees and yelled
through the branches; they made heroic
speeches from logs and stumps; they turned
their clothes inside out they rode one an
other on poles-they did everything that
great fertility Of resource in this direction
could suggest. At the headquarters Of our
brigade a horse bucket full Of eggnog was
made, and the general and his staff INDUCED
In copious lbations. After several rounds
they sailed forth and seized the instruments
Of the band, and formed for parade through
the camp. The general headed the process
sion with the bass drum, which he pounded
50 furiOusly that he broke in one of the
heads The staff officers, with horns, blew
the most wildly discordant blasts. As they
marched hither and thither, regimental and
company officers and hundreds of soldiers
fell in behind the general and his staff, until
the column Of bowling lunatics was quarter
OF mile long